Magazine writer Evan Ratliff has developed software that gives small publishers the chance to compete with moguls on tablets and smartphones. The Atavist is a boutique publishing venture that will sell original, long-form nonfiction stories exclusively on smartphones and tablets. Ratliff will commission and edit the stories, which will be longer than typical magazine features and shorter than most books. Readers will be able to download the Atavist app for free and purchase individual stories for $2.99 on iPhones and iPads, or pay $1.99 for a Kindle version. Writers will earn a flat fee for each story plus a percentage of every copy sold.
The Atavist has built a content management system, dubbed Periodic Technology, that allows editors to build multimedia narratives, design layouts, and then, with one step, publish across multiple platforms. It currently formats content for iPhones, iPads, and Kindles, and will soon serve Android devices as well.
Ratliff plans to license his technology and lower the barrier to entry for small publishers.
Read more at Business Week
